The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Quick: Name an American woman who’s made a fortune by founding a technology company. Ex-eBay’s Meg Whitman? ’s Sheryl Sandberg? No.

It’s Judy Faulkner, the founder and chief executive officer of privately-held Epic Systems, which sells electronic health records. If you’ve never heard of Faulkner, it’s because she wants it that way. Ensconced in the tiny town of Verona, Wisconsin, she shies away from the press, rarely giving interviews. When I got in touch with her back in early December for a profile in the magazine, she refused to tell her story, insisting the spotlight should shine on her customers. They make up the upper echelons of U.S. health care, and include Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Cedars-Sinai, and HMO giant Kaiser Permanente. They are willing to shell out millions to install Epic’s digital patient records. In that world, Faulkner is simply known by her first name Judy--like Madonna or Oprah.

Her influence on U.S. health care is substantial. The company says that by next year, nearly 40% of the U.S. population will have its medical information stored in an Epic digital record. Mine is. Faulkner is also the only head of a company to sit on a government-appointed committee that makes recommendations on issues that will affect not only Americans, but her own company. They include setting standards for the exchange of patient medical information.

Faulkner founded Epic in 1979, with the original name of Human Services Computing. A computer scientist, she wrote the code for those early patient databases, and built the company without outside capital. She has never raised money from venture or private equity investors, rejecting a request in 2003 from her biggest client Kaiser Permanente to get a piece of equity when her company was much smaller.

Last year, Epic generated $1.2 billion in revenues—double four years ago; it won’t disclose earnings, but says it’s profitable and has no debt. Faulkner remains the biggest shareholder, with no plans to go public. Forbes estimates her net worth at more than $1.5 billion, making her the only woman to reach the rank of billionaire by founding her own technology company. Faulkner says she’s not a billionaire. “That is factually incorrect. We are a private company and don't share private information about stockholders or percentages. I can confirm that Judy holds less than 40% of the stock,” says her spokesperson.